Bottle transferring mechanism



June 27, 1933. J. P. EENOIT 9 2 BOTTLE TRANSFERRING MECHANISM Filed May 26, 1931 7 Sheets-Sheet l lullill June 27, 1933.

J. P. BENOIT BOTTLE TRANSFERRING MECHANISM Filed May 26, 1931 7 Sheets-Sheet 2 June 27, 1933. J. P. BENO'IT BOTTLE TRANSFERRING MECHANISM Filed May 26', 1931 7 Sheets-Sheet 3 Nwm 22,5,.2.25:55:22: i Q

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n MECHANISM ,Filed May 26, 1931 7 Sheets-Sheet 4 'g/i-i. 40

June 27, 1933. .1. P. BENOIT 1,915,972

BOTTLE TRANS FERRING MECHANISM Filed May 26, 1951 v Sheets-Sheet 5 duo/mug 7 Sheets-Sheet 6 Filed May 26, 1931 N WWN June 27, 1933. .1. P. BENQIT BOTTLE TRANSFERRING MECHANISM Filed May 26, 1931 7 Sheets-Sheet '7 Iatented June 27, 1933 I V I nears. stares PATENT DFFICE JUSEPH P. BENOIT, OF ALTON, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO OWENS-ILLINOIS GLASS CD'MPANY, A CORPORATION 01? OHIO BGTTLE TRANSFERRING MECHANISM Application filed May 26, 1931. Serial No. 54:0 ,067.

The present invention relates to improve- Fig. 1A is a diagrammatic plan view ments in bottle transferring mechanism and showing the position of the present invention more particularly to means for elevating 111 a modern shop. bottles or similar articles of glassware in an Flg. 2 is a top plan view of the transferring 5 orderly fashion from the level at which they mechanism. 1 I are discharged from the finishing molds of Fig. 3 is a fragmentary vertical sectional a forming machine to the level at which they EW taken substantially along the line travel to and through an annealing leer. 9 F g. 2.

C t i types f hi f fgr ning Fig. l 18 a transverse sectional View taken hollow glassware include tiltable finishing ntially along the line IV-IV of Fig. 2. 3o

#5 of a leer conveyor which carries the articles molds from which the finished articles of F g 5 is a detail sectional View taken along glassware are necessarily discharged or re 6.

moved by mechanical means in a plane someg- 6 18 & eal Sectional view through what lower than the ware supporting level the rotary f r table.

through an annealing leer. An example of 92?; e 11118 =7 --V II of Fig. 2. this type of machine is shown in Lal rance h1g8 is asectlon al V ew taken substantially Patent 1,739,8 15, dated December 17, 1929. gae the 11116 Y III of Fi g2. Because 'of this condition it is necessary to rue P lnventlon 1S prlmel'lly e elevate the discharged articles to the plane of ed t0 be embodied in a which in the 9 the ware bearing reach of the leer conveyor ife l gla s factory includes; a furnace 10,- p epargtory t0 placing them in the annealing El IOI'IlllIlg Kidd 11118 11, and 2H1 annealing 1861 leer. For this purpose a type of m h i 12. A mechanical leer loader is usually emshould be employed which may be readily p y 1ylng the finished glassware adjusted to operate in synchronism with the @0111 i e maehlneto the I11 the F 3. forming machine and article conveying means {mt disclosure (Fig. 1-A) the leer loader i ted ith th annealing l t hi h includes a machine conveyor 13, cross conthe articles are delivered. veyor 14, and a ware pusher 15, the latter An Object of the present invention i th providing the means by which articles of provision of novel means for elevating finglassware are pushed from the cross con- P ished bottles orjars from their point of disyeyor 14 onto the leer conveyor 16. In many charge or removal from the molds of a forminstances the finished articles discharged ing machine to the level at which they are from the finishing molds 17 are deposited by carried through an annealing leer. hand upon the machine conveyor 13. In ac- 35 Another object is the provisiomin bottle cordance with the invention herein dis 5 40 A further object is the provision of bottle fashion to place finished articles at a pre- 7 transferring mechanism of the above characclosed it is intended that the finished arter, of means for uniformly spacing the articles shall be removed from the molds 17 ticles preparatory to placing them in front of by tongs 18 which may be individual to the the receiving opening of an annealing leer. molds and mold cavities and operated in a 9 transferring mechanism which may be addetermined point spaced radially beyond the justed vertically to meet various operating path of travel of the molds. conditions such as changes in the elevation As stated heretofore, in the modern shop of the point of discharge of articles from the herein the bottle forming machine is of finishing molds of a forming machine. the type including tiltable finishing molds, I Other objects will be in part apparent and the articles are necessarily removed from the in part pointed out hereinafter. molds at an elevation considerably below the In the drawings: horizontal plane in which the machine con- Fig. l is a side elevational View of the veyor, cross c nv yor, and leer conveyor transferring mechanism. are arranged. For the purpose of raising the Fig. 7 is a sectional view taken substantially c5 finished articles to the plane of the machine conveyor and placing them in an orderly fashion upon said conveyor, I employ an inclined escalator type conveyor 19 which elevates the articles and places them upon a rotary transfer table 20 from which they are then transferred to the machine conveyor 13.

Both the inclined conveyor 19 and rotary transfer table 20 are mounted upon a wheeled base 21 which includes, in addition to the supporting wheels 22, combined elevating and lock screws 23 by means of which the base may be secured against movement or/and if necessary have its elevation changed to meet varying conditions at the point of discharge of articles from the finishing molds 17.

"he inclined conveyor 19 to which the finished articles of glassware such as hottles and jars, are initially delivered upon removal from the finishing molds, comprises a supporting frame mounted on one end of the wheeled base 21. The upper ends of the side frame members are inclined and adapted to support an inclined table 25, lengthwise of which the articles are moved from the. discharge point to the rotary trans fer table 20. This inclined table comprises three longitudinal sections, the intermediate section. 25 providing the article supporting surface. This intermediate section is mounted upon a pair of stationary cam plates 26 which, as will be apparent presently, control the path of movement of a series of article pushers 27 by means of which the articles are moved overthe surface of said inclined table. These cam plates 26 are supported u on a pair of shafts 31 and held in spaced relation by spacers 26 and a connector 26*. The upper end 28 of said intermediate section 2F extends in a horizontal plane with the rotary transfer table 20 and terminates quite close to it so that articles may be transferred to the latter solely by means of the natural pushing operation of the pushers 27.

The pushers 27, by means of which the articles are moved upwardly over the inclined table 25 to the rotary transfer table 20, are arranged between and pivoted at uniformly spaced points to a pair of endless chains 29 which are trained over sprockets 30. These sprockets are arranged in pairs at opposite ends of the frame 24 and keyed to a pair of horizontal shafts 31 which are journaled in bearings 32 provided in the frame 2 1. The upper shaft 31 (Figs. 3 and 7) is driven by means which will be described presently and through the sprockets and chains imparts movement to the pushers. Each pusher (Figs. 3 and 4) comprises a substantially inverted U-shaped frame 33 which straddles the intermediate section 25 of the inclined table and is pivoted through a pair of hinge pins 84L- to lugs 35 which are suitably attached to the sprocket chains. Right angular-1y disposed lingers 36 on the depending arms 33 of the frame 33 carry cam rolls 3? which travel in closed continuous earns 38 formed in the outer vertical faces of the two cam plates 26. These closed cams (Figs. 3 and at) are shaped to hold the pushers 27 in an operative article engaging position while moving over a major portion of the inclined table and to swing the pushers backward at the moment they have completed transfer of articles from said inclined table to the rotary transfer table 20. The angular portion 39 (Fig. 3) of the cams 38 is of such shape that the pushers are thereby moved about tneir pivots just in time to avoid striking the rotary transfer table 20. This is necessary because of the close spaced relation of the two tables. In the present embodiment of the invention the construction is designed to handle the production of plural cavity molds. Accordingly, a partition plate 40 (Figs, 1, 2, 3, and l) extending lengthwise of the inclined table, is disposed in a vertical plane above and centrally of the intermediate table section 25 to prevent contact between pairs of bottles being moved side by side along said table. One end of the partition plate is supported by a curved arm 41 which is suitably connected to the frame 24. The other or upper end of the plate is connected to a rod a2 suspended from an inverted U-shaped frame 43 arranged at the upper end of the inclined table.

For the purpose of steadying the bottles at the time they are deposited upon the inclined table and supporting them against tipping over, a pair of guard plates common to all of the pushers is provided. These guard plates 44 (Figs. 1, 2, and l) are arranged at opposite sides of the partition plate 40 and adapted to move into a horizontal path immediately above the inclined table. Each guard plate is substantially L- shaped including a forward wall 45 and a side wall 46. These walls are adapted to cooperate with the adjacent portion of a pusher, the partition plate 40 and the intermediate table section 20, in forming an upwardly opening pocket into which a finished article, such as a bottle or jar, is deposited by means of the take-out tongs 18. The guard plates move from a position adjacent the lower end of the table to a point substantially midway the length thereof where they are moved transversely of the table in opposite directions and then returned to heir original positions. The construction whereby such operation of each guard plate is obtained, includes a slide frame 47 (Figs. 1, 2, and i) extending lengthwise of the inclined table 25 and mounted on the upper portion of the main supporting frame 2 l. A slide 48 is mounted on said slide frame and in part supports a sliding rock shaft 49 which at one end is slidingly journaled in a bearing 50 on the frame 47. An outwardly extending arm 52 on the rock shaft carries a bearing 51 for the upper end of the shaft, said shaft being connected through parallel links 53 to an arm 54 upon which the guard plate 14 is mounted. For the purpose of controlling the path of movement of each guard plate 4 1, a cam plate 55 is attached to the slide frame 47 just abovethe rock shaft 19. This plate is formed with a cam slot 56 in which an arm 57 on the rock shaft is guided. This slot from its lower end extends parallel with the path of travel of the articles for a short distance and then is directed outwardly at an obtuse angle. A cam roll 58 on the slide l8 is engaged by a rotary cam 59 which is mounted for rotation with the lower pair of sprockets about the axis of the lower shaft 31. A coil spring 60 yieldingly holds the slide in its lowermost position maintaining contact between the cam roll 58 and said cam 59 during a major portion of each cycle of operations. From the above it will be seen that rotation of the cam 59 moves the slide toward the upper end of the slide frame, imparting movement to the guard plate along a path the shape of which is identical to that of the cam slot 56. Due to the particular shape of the cam 59, it is obvious that upon completion of the upstroke of the slide 48, the spring 60 will be free to quickly return the slide and guard plate connected thereto, to the positions shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

In order to prevent upsetting of the bottles or jars as they are moved from the upper end of the inclined table 25 to the rotary transfer table 20, a group of steadying fingers 61 (Figs. 1, and 2) is mounted on the inverted U-shaped frame 43. These fingers are arranged in a horizontal plane over portions of both tables and in contact with each other, said fingersbeing pivoted to a horizontal hinge pin 62 which in turn is mounted upon a vertically adjustable carrier 63 supper-ted in said U-shaped frame 43. This carrier (Fig. 3) has vertically sliding connection with the frame 43 and is adjustable by means of screws 64:. Such adjustment is, of course, necessary in order to accommodate bottles and jars of different heights. While abottle moving from the inclined table 25 to the rotary transfer table 20 at the upper portion or neck of the bottle will raise a number of the fingers 61 leaving adjacent fingers at the opposite sides of those lifted by the bottle in contact with the sides of the bottle necx. Thus it is seen that the bottle will be positively held against falling or tipping.

As stated heretofore the upper shaft 31 is driven and in turn operates through the sprocket chains to drive the lower shaft. Power for driving the upper shaft 31 is 0btained through an inclined shaft 65 from driving mechanism which forms a part of the unitincluding the rotary transfer table. This mechanism will be described presently. The upper end of the inclined shaft 65 (Figs. 7 and 8) carries a worm 66 arranged within a gear housing 67 which also encloses a portion of an extension 31 on the upper shaft 31. This housing is suitably supported on the main frame 24:. A worm gear 68 is j ournaled on the shaft extension 31* and runs in mesh with the worm 66. A pair of ring gears 69 and a group of pinions 70 mounted on the shaft extension outwardly from the worm gear 60, constitute a differential gearing through which motion is imparted to a clutch head 71. A movable clutch head 72 is keyed to the shaft extension 31 and by a sliding movement on the shaft may be engaged with or disengaged from the other clutch head 71. A coil spring 7 3 encircling a portion of the shaft extension 31" exerts pressure upon the movable clutch head 7 2 tending to hold them engaged at all times. For the purpose of disengaging the clutch heads when desired, there 15 provided a collar 74 enc1rcling the two clutch heads and pivoted below the latter to a collar 7 5 which is attached to the.

gear housing 67. The collar 74 has contact with a bearing plate 7 6 on the inner face of a hand wheel 77. A lever 78 extends upwardly from the collar 7st providing means whereby the clutch may be manually thrown out of operation. A latch 79 pivoted to the lever 7 8 is formed with a notched outer end 80 adapted for engagement with the collar '1 5 on the gear housing 67 to thereby hold the clutch heads disengaged when desired.

This driving mechanism also includes means whereby the positions of the pushers 27 relative to the guard plates 44 may be changed to vary the spaced relation between the pushers and guard plates whereby articles of different diameters may be handled.

The construction whereby such adjustment may be obtained includes a worm gear 81 upon which said pinions 70 are mounted. A worm 82 (Figs. 7 and 8) meshes with the worm gear 81. An operating handle 83 is connected to one end of the shaft 82" upon which the worm 82 is mounted so that said worm and worm gear may be manually rotated. In this manner the shaft extension 31 and, therefore, the upper shaft 31 may be rotated to either advance or retard the operating positions of the pushers 27.

By means of the rotary transfer table 20 (Figs. 1, 2, and 6) bottles or jars are carried from the discharge end ofthe inclined table 25 to a position where the finger transfer chain 84: slides the bottles onto the machine conveyor 13.

The rotary transfer table 20 includes a rotary vertical shaft 85 j ournaled in bearings 86 formed in a pedestal 87 on one end of the wheeled base 21. A connector 87 secures the pedestal 87 and said frame 24 together. A bottle supporting plate 88 forming a part of the transfer table 20 is mounted upon the vertical shaft 8% just above th upper bearing 86 and in the same plane as the upper end of the inclined table 25. A sleeve extension 89 on the upper end of the shaft 85 supports a bottle stcadying device 90 which includes a disk having a series of notches 91 in its periphery adapted to receive the neck portions of the bottles which are supported in upright positions on the circular plate 88. This disk is threaded on a sleeve Xtension 89 at the upper end of the shaft so that it may be adjusted vertically to accommodate bott-les of different heights. More specifically, the connection between the disk and sleeve extension 89 includes a sleeve 91 threaded onto the sleeve extension 89 and having a radial flange 92 at its lower end upon which the disk 90 is seated. A collar 93 encircles the upper portion of the sleeve 91 and is connected to the sleeve 91 by a locking screw 9% which also provides rigid connection be tween said collar, sleeve, and sleeve e: :tension. Spring detents 95 carried by the collar 98 provide releasable drivin connection between said collar and'disk. Thus rotation of the sleeve 89 operates through the spring detents 95 to impart rotary motion to the steadying disk 90.

In order that the position of the steadying disk may be advanced or retarded relative to the operating positions of other associated parts to thereby accurately set the notches 91 in said dish, a construction substantially as will now be described is employed. An internal sleeve 96 is keyed to the upper end of the vertical shaft 85 within the sleeve extension 89 and is substantially co-extensive with the latter. This internal sleeve is provided with a pair of opposed spiral slots 97. The sleeve extension is provided with a pair of opposed vertical grooves 98 in its inner face. A screw rod 99 is disposed within the inner sleeve 96 and carries a connector 100 in the form of a collar having opposed radial fingers 101 thereon. These fingers extend through the spiral slot 97 and thence into the vertical channels or grooves 98. By means of a handle 102 or crank, secured to the upper end of the screw rod 99 the latter may be rotated to raise or lower said connector 100. Such movement imparts a retary movement to the connector and thereby rotates the inner sleeve 96 relative to the sleeve extension 89 and resulting in advancing or retarding the position of the steadying disk 90.

Rotary motion is imparted to the vertical shaft 85 through a drive shaft 103 (Fig. 6) which may be operatively connected to and rotated by the machine 11. A gear 109 at the inner Pnd of the shaft runs in mesh with a gear 110 which is keyed to a tubular shaft 105 surrounding a portion of the lower end of the main shaft 85. Through a speed reduction gearing 106 disposed within the lower portion of the pedestal 87, which incidentally provides a gear housing, driving connection between said tubular shaft 105 and the main shaft 85 is obtained. The bevel gear 110 (Fig. 6) runs in mesh with a bevel gear (not shown) on one end of a shaft 111 (Fig. 1) which carries a bevel gear 112 running in mesh with a gear 113 at the lower end of the inclined shaft 65, the latter bein arranged to transmit power to the pusher operated mechanism as described heretofore. By means of meshing bevel gears 191 and a shaft 107 connected thereto, power may be transmitted to conveyor operating mechanism (not shown).

The finger transfer chain 84 referred to heretofore is trained over an idler sprocket 11% which is mounted on the main shaft at a point just above the circular bottle supporting plate 88. Fingers S l on the chain 84: adapted to be brought into engagement with the bottles as the latter reach the point at which they are to be slidingl Y removed from the rotary transfer table to the machine conveyor 13.

The mode of operation is substantially as follows: As a finishing mold opens at the discharging position adjacent the lower end of the inclined conveyor 19 igs. 1 and 1A) the take-out tongs 18 engage the neck portions of a pair of bottles and carry them upwardly and outwardly to the position shown in Fig. 1. Immediately the tongs are opened so that the bottles drop into individual pockets which are formed by the pushers, guard plates, and table. The pushers 27 which are constantly moving toward the upper end of the inclined table 25 move into contact with the bottles and push them upwardly along the inclined surface. At a point substantially midway the length of the lnclined table the guard plates dd are moved out of the path of travel of the pushers and returned to their original positions for co operation with the next succeeding pusher. As brought out heretofore, the cam 59 and spring 60 (Fig. 1) reciprocate the guard plates 44-. lVhen the bottles reach the upper end of the inclined table 25 their upper ends lift certain of the steadying fingers 61. as brought out heretofore, so that the adjacent fingers which are not lifted the neck portions and steady the bottles, preventing their tipping over while being transferred to the rotary table 20. of means whereby the pushers are moved backward about individual pivots at a point in proximity to the rotary transfer table 20, these pushers are allowed to maintain contact with the bottles until they are completely Through the provision supported on the circular plate 88 which forms a part of the rotary transfer table 20. The cams 36 (Fig. 3) accurately and completely control the path of travel of the pushers and swing the pushers to their various positions. Op :ation of the rotary transfer table 2'0 is such that the neck receiving notches 91 of the steadying disk 90 are brought into position the upper end of the inclined table at the moment of completion of a bottle transferring operation. In the event advancing or retarding the positions of these recesses is necessary to permit entry of the bottle necks thereinto, the crank 102 or handle at the upper end of the rotary transfer table (Figs. 1 and 6) may be retated and thereby effect the desired adjust ment of the steadying disk 90. Due to rotation of the table, bottles are brought into position adjacent the receiving end of the machine convey r 13, where they are moved by means of the fingers S P to upright positions on said conveyor. The bottles are later transferred to the cross conveyor 14 and by means of a mechanical pusher 15, are pushed onto the leer conveyor 16 which carries said bottles through the annealing leer 12.

Modifications may be resorted to within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. Bottle transferring mechanism including an inclined stationary table, a seriesof bottle pushers mounted for movement in a closed path disposed in a vertical plane and in part extending lengthwise of and in proximity to the table, each pusher mounted for swinging movement about a horizontal pivot, a stationary continuous cam within the closed path formed to hold the pushers in an operative position while moving in proximity to the table and swing said pushers about their pivots to an inoperative position as they move away from said table, a guard plate mounted for reciprocation along a path extending lengthwise over the table, and means for moving the plate ahead of, the pushers in spaced relation thereto a predetermined distance and at the same speed as the latter and then returned to the lower end of the table for positioning ahead of the next succeeding pusher.

2. Bottle transferring mechanism including an inclined stationary table, a series of bottle pushers mounted for movement in a closed path disposed in a vertical plane and in part extending lengthwise of and in proximity to the table, each pusher mounted for swinging movement about a horizontal pivot, means for holding the pushers against swinging movement during their travel in proximity to the table and for swinging them to inoperative position as they move away from said table, and mea-ns common to all of s: the pushers and cooperating with saidpushers and table at regular time intervals to form a bottle receiving pocket.

3. Bottle transferring mechanism including an inclined stationary table, a series of pushers arranged for movement in a closed path disposed in a vertical plane, a portion of said path extending lengthwise of and in proximity to the upper side of said table,and a stationary cam arranged within said closed path to positively hold the pushers in an operative position while they are moving in proximity to said table and in an inoperative position for a predetermined period of time thereafter, said cam at least in part supporting the inclined table.

l. Bottle transferring mechanism including an inclined stationary table having a portion of its upper end disposed in a horizontal plane, a rotary transfer table arranged in proximity to the upper end of the inclined table and mounted for movement in said horizontal plane, a series of bottle pushers arranged to move in succession lengthwise of and in proximity to the upper side of the inclined table, means for swinging the pushers about indi'idual horizontal axes upon reaching a point in proximity to the rotary transfer table, and a bottle steadying device arranged above the upper end of the inclined table to engage the top and upper vertical side portions of bottles .as they are pushed onto the rotary table.

5. Bottle transferring mechanism comprising. an inclined stationary table, a series of bottle pushers arranged for movement in a closed path extending in part lengthwise and adjacent the upper side of said table, a stationary continuous cam in part supporting said table and controlling the path of movement of said pushers, said cam shaped to hold the pushers in an upright operative position while moving along said table and to swing the pushers backward about individual horizontal pivots to an inoperative position substantially at the upper end of the table, and means arranged for positioning over the table and in advance of each pusher during a portion of its travel to form with'the pusher and table a bottle receiving pocket.

6. Bottle transferring mechanism comprising an inclined stationary table, a series of bottle pushers arranged for movement in a closed path extending in part lengthwise and adjacent the upper side of said table, a stationary continuous cam in part supporting said table and controlling the path of movement of said pushers, said cam shaped to hold the pushers in an upright operative position while moving along said table and to swing the pushers backward about individ ual horizontal pivots to an inoperative position substantially at the upper end of the table, a guard plate common to all of said pushers and ad-aptedto occupy a position inadvance of each pusher while the latter moves over a portion of the table, and means operating in synchronism with the advancing movement of the pushers to cause both transverse and lengthwise movement of the guard plate with respect to the inclined table.

7. Bottle transferring mechanism comprising an inclined stationary table, a series of bottle pushers arranged for movement in a closed path extending in part lengthwise and adjacent the upper side of said table, a stationary continuous cam in part supporting said table and controlling the path of movement of said pushers, said cam shaped to hold the pushers in an upright operative position while moving along said table and to swing the pushers backward about inclividual horizontal pivots to an inoperative position substantially at the upper end of the table, a guard plate common to all of said pushers and adapted tooccupy a position in advance of each pusher while the latter moves over a portion of the table, a series of links and levers supporting the guard plate, a rock shaft carrying said links and levers, and cam mechanism operating in synchronism with movement of the pushers to impart axial and oscillative movement to the rock shaft whereby said guard plate.

is caused to cooperate with the pushers in succession and the table in forming bottle receiving pockets.

8. Bottle transferring mechanism comprising an inclined stationary table, a series of bottle pushers arranged for movement in a closed path extending in part lengthwise and adjacent the upper side of said table, a stationary continuous cam in part supporting said table and controlling the path of movement of said pushers, said cam shaped to hold the pushers in an upright operative position while moving along said table and to swing the pushers backward about individual horizontal pivots to an inoperative position substantially at the upper end of the table, a guard plate common to all of said pushers and adapted to occupy a position in advance of each pusher while the latter moves over a portion of the table, a series of links and levers supporting the guard plate, a

rock shaft carrying said links and levers, cam mechanism operating in synchronism with movement of the pushers to impart axial and oscillative movement to the rock shaft whereby said guard plate is caused to cooperate with the pushers in succession and the table in forming bottle receiving pockets, said cam mechanism including a rotary cam, a slide connected to the rock shaft, a cam roll on said slide adapted for engagement with said cam, and means for rotating the cam in timed relation to movement of said pushers.

9. Bottle transferring mechanism comprising an inclined stationary table, a series of bottle pushers arranged for movement in a closed path extending in part lengthwise and adjacent the upper side of said table, a stationary continuous cam in part supporting said table and controlling the path of movement of said pushers, said cam shaped to hold the pushers in an upright operative position while moving along said table and to swing the pushers backward about individual horizontal pivots to an inoperative position substantially at the upper end of the table, a guard plate common to all of said pushers and adapted to occupy a position in advance of each pusher while the latter moves over a portion of the table, a series of links and levers supporting the guard plate, a rock iaft carrying said links and levers, cam mechanism operating in synchronism with movement of the pushers to impart axial and oscillative movement to the rock shaft whereby said guard plate is caused to cooperate with the pushers in succession and the table in forming bottle receiving pockets, said cam mechanism including a rotary cam, a slide connected to the rock shaft, a cam roll on said slide adapted for engagement with said cam, means for rotating the cam in timed relation to movement of said pushers, and automatic means operating independently of the cam for moving the guard plate in the direction opposite that in which it is moved by the cam.

10. Bottle transferring mechanism comprising an inclined stationary table, a series of bottle pushers arranged for movement in a closed path extending in part lengthwise and adjacent the upper side of said table, a guard plate common to all of said pushers and adapted to occupy a position in advance of each pusher while the latter moves over a portion of the table, means for operating the pushers and guard plate in synchronism, and means for advancing or retarding the operating positions of the pushers to thereby change the spaced relation between said pushers and guard plate.

11. Bottle transferring mechanism comprising an inclined stationary table having a horizontal upper end portion, a rotary table arranged at and in the same horizontal plane as the upper end portion of said table, a series of bottle pushers arranged for movement upwardly along the upper side of said inclined table to move bottles lengthwise of the latter and transfer them while upright to the rotary table, means common to all of'the pushers adapted to cooperate with said pushers one at a time and the inclined table to provide bottle receiving pockets at and in proximity to the lower end of the inclined table, said pocket forming means including a substantially L-shaped guard plate, a continuously rotating cam, and mechanism actuated by said cam to move the plate in advance of and at the same speed as the pushers clined table. 1 I

12. Bottle transferring mechanism comprising an inclined stationary table having a horizontal upper end portion, a rotary table arranged at and in the same horizontal plane as the upper end portion of said table, a series of bottle pushers arranged for movement upwardly along the upper side of said inclined table to move bottles lengthwise of the latter and transfer them while upright to the rotary table, means common to all of the pushers adapted to cooperate with said pushers one at a time and the inclined table to provide bottle receiving pockets at and in proximity to the lower end of the inclined table, said pocket forming means including a substantially L-shaped uard plate, means operating in timed r lat-ion to movement of the pushers to cause said plate to move simultaneously with and in advance of the pushers a predetermined distance along said inclined table, and means for changing the spaced relation of the operating positions of the pushers and guard plates whereby to provide pockets of different sizes.

13. Bottle transferring mechanism comprising an inclined stationary table having a horizontal upper end portion, a rotary table arranged at and in the same horizontal plane with the upper end portion of said table and in proximity thereto, a series of bottle pushers arranged for movement upwardly along the upper side of said inclined table to move bottles lengthwise of the latter and transfer them while upright from said horizontal upper end portion to the rotary table, and means common to all of the pushers adapted to cooperate with said pushers one at a time and with the inclined table to provide upwardly facing bottle receiving pockets at and in proximity to the lower end of the inclined table.

14. Bottle transferring mechanism comprising inc ined stationary table having a horizontal upper end portion, a rotary table arranged at and in the same horizontal plane with the upper end portion of said table, a

for a predetermined distance'along the in- 'series of bottle pushers arranged for movement upwardly along the upper side of said inclined table to move bottles lengthwise of the latter and transfer them while upright to the rotary table, means common to all of the pushers and cooperating with them one at a time and with the inclined table to provide bottle receiving pockets at and in proximity to the lower end of the inclined table, said pocket forming means including a substantially L-shaped guard plate, and means operating in timed. relation to movement of the pushers to cause said plate to move simultaneousiy with and in advance of the pushers a predetermined distance along said inclined table.

15. In combination, an inclined stationary table, a series of pushers movable in succession upwardly over said table, a guard plate common to all of the pushers and mounted for movement in advance of the pushers and in spaced relation thereto from the lower end of the table toward the upper end thereof, means for imparting continuous movement to the pushers, means for moving the guard plate, and means for retracting the guard plate from the path of travel of the pushers at the upper end of its path of movement and projecting it into said path of movement of the pushers at the low-er end of the table.

16. In combination, an inclined stationary table, a series of pushers movable in succession upwardly over said table, a guard plate common to all of the pushers and mounted for movement in advance of the pushers and in spaced elation thereto from the lower end of the table toward the upper end thereof, means for imparting continuous movement to the pushers, means for moving the guard plate, means for retracting the guard plate from the path of travel of the pushers at the upper end of its path of movement and projecting it into said path oflmovement of the pushers at the lower end of the table, said guart plate retracting and projecting means including a rock shaft, means connecting the shaft and guard plate, and cam mechanism for rockin the shaft at re ular time interb O V vals.

17. In combination, an inclined stationary table, a series of pushers movable in succession upwardly over said table, a guard plate common to all of the pushers and mounted for movement in advance of the pushers and in spaced relation thereto from the lower end of the table toward the upper end thereof,

163118 for imparting continuous movement to the pushers, means for moving the guard plat means for retracting the guard plate from the path of travel of the pushers at the upper end of its path of movement and projecting it into said path of movement of the pushers at the lower end of the table, the guard plate operating means including a slide'mounted for movement lengthwise of the table, a rock shaft mounted on the slide, link connectors between the rock shaft and guard plate, means including a continuously rotating cam for reciprocating the slide,

guard plate, and rock shaft as a unit, and

cam means for rocking the shaft during reciprocation thereof to thereby retract the guard plate from the path of travel of the pushers at one point and project it into said path at another point.

18. In combination, an inclined stationary table having a horizontal upper end portion, a horizontal table arranged in the plane of said upper end portion and onto which botties are adapted to be pushed from the latter, means including a. series of pushers for moving bottles up the inclined table and from the horizontal upper end portionto the other table, and a bottle steadying device disposed substantially over the horizontal upper end portion and adapted to engage the top and upper vertical side portions during the transferring operation.

19., In combination, an inclined stationary table having a horizontal upper end portion, a horizontal table arran ed in the plane of said upper end portion and onto which bottles are adapted to be pushed from the latter, means including a series of pushers for moving bottles up the inclined table and from the horizontal upper end portion to the other table, and a bottle steadyin'g device disposed substantially over the horizontal upper end portion and adapted to engage the top and upper vertical side portions during the transferring operation, said steadying device including a plurality of fingers pivoted to a horizontal hinge pin and arranged side by side and extending lengthwise of the path of travel of the pusher, certain of said fingers adapted to engage the side surfaces and others the top surface of bottles during the transferring operation.

20. In combination, an inclined stationary table, a series of bottle pushers movable in succession upwardly over said table, means for moving said pushers, means including a substantially L-shaped guard plate common to all of the pushers and cooperating therewith to provide an upwardly opening pocket during a portion of the travel of each pusher upwardly along the table, a slide mounted for movement in parallelism with the path of travel of the pushers, a rock shaft mounted on the slide, links connecting the rock shaft and guard plate, a spring device yieldingly holding the slide in its lowermost position, means for adjusting the lowermost position to thereby change the size of the pocket, cam mechanism for moving the slide in opposition to the influence of the spring device to thereby advance the guard plate ahead of and with the pushers in succession, and automatic means for rocking the shaft at regular time intervals to move said plate into and out of the path of travel of the pushers.

Signed at Alton, Illinois, this 21st day of May, 1931.

JOSEPH P. BENOIT. 

